About
Robert Hays has been a newspaperreporter, public relations writer, magazine editor, and university professorand administrator. A native of Illinois, hetaught in Texas and Missouriand retired in 2008 from a long journalism teaching career at the University of Illinois. He has spent a great deal oftime in South Carolina,the home state of his wife, Mary, and is a member of the South Carolina WritersWorkshop. His publications include academic journal and popular periodicalarticles and several non-fiction books. His novels include The BabyRiver Angel, Circles in the Water and TheLife and Death of Lizzie Morris, all published by Vanilla Heart. Robert andMary live in Champaign, Illinois. They have two sons and a grandsonand share (long story!) a cat named Eddie with the family next door.
A King Under Siege: Book One of The Plantagenet Legacy
Description
<p>Richard II found himself under siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles. Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless. He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his subjects. Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.</p>
Story Behind The Book
I collaborated on a book (G-2: Intelligence for Patton) with Oscar Koch, a retired general who served as Gen. George S. Patton's intelligence chief during World War II. Documents used in that work included the U.S. Seventh Army's detailed planning and after-battle reports on the invasion of Sicily. I wanted to write an authentic story of a veteran of that invasion, and at the same time deal with the very difficult issue of how we face death--and particularly the loss of a long-time mate. I did careful research on both topics to make the setting of this story accurate in detail as well as in broad scope.
